Pimentel asks DENR chief to stop illegal mining Zambales coast

Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Q. Pimentel, Jr. (PDP-Laban) has asked Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Secretary Lito Atienza to stop the illegal mining operation of a private firm on the seashore of Candelaria, Zambales.

Pimentel said the Prime Picks Company, headed by a certain Roberto Go, has been extracting black sands along the Candelaria seashore in flagrant violation of an existing law prohibiting all forms of mining and quarrying in coastal areas which are classified as "salvage zone."

Under the law, mining and quarrying are banned within 200 meters from the salvage zone.

"I was able to talk to Secretary Atienza and he assured me he would act on my request immediately. He agreed with me that the mining firm has no business operating there," Pimentel said.

The senator said he obtained first-hand information about the illegal mining activity of Prime Picks when he visited Candelaria town over the weekend. He said the extraction of sands on the shore destroys the natural barrier that prevents the seawater from overflowing that causes flooding in the beach area and the nearby village.

Pimentel said the farmers in one barangay have complained that their ricefields have been damaged by the intrusion of sea water caused by the extraction of sands on the beach area.

He said he learned that the municipal council of Candelaria town has approved a resolution asking proper government authorities to stop the company's mining operation in view of the destruction it is causing to the environment that endangers the welfare and safety of the people in the nearby community.

Noting that Prime Picks does not have any valid permit, Pimentel said the company owners should be held criminally liable for its illegal mining operations.

"Here is a clear example of an unscrupulous mining company operating without regard to environmental laws, unmindful of the hazards that its operation is causing the local residents and completely ignoring the authority of the local government unit concerned. We should not allow this intolerable situation to go on," he said.